Book of Days
by Sunshine-Psycho
Summary: A young woman becomes the center of attention for grisly accidents. But there be more than meets the eye when she starts uncovering the secrets of her past.
1. Prologue

Book of days

[Prologue

Salem, Massachusetts: 1692

A thick fog hovers above the ground and the sky is cloudy and gray. The grass glistens with dew and in the distance, a dog barks. A crowd has gathered around three large, slender wooden poles planted firmly into the ground with pieces of chopped wood at the base. Tied to those poles are three women with ropes around their waist while their hair flutters softly in the early morning fall breeze. A reverend stands in the center, clutching a bible. He is face was frozen in a mask of sympathy and fear as he looked at the three women. The air was thick and heavy with fear, anger and revenge. The reverend clears his throat and begins speaking.

"Young Charity Cromwell," the reverend addresses the woman in the center with shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes. His eyes shift to the woman on the left, flanking Charity. "Young Mary Beaumont," his eyes then shift to the woman flanking Charity on the right. "And Young Sara Bolton, you have been found guilty of witchcraft. How do you plead?"

All three women just glared at the reverend without speaking. The reverend sighed. He was hoping they would redeem themselves and repent from their sins, but alas they were not speaking. There was nothing much he could do for them. He traced a cross in the air using his index and middle finger and stepped back as three executioners dressed in black with a hood over their faces stepped forward and lowered burning torches to the base of the poles. The three women exchanged looks and an understanding passes between them, along with something else.

"We shall have our revenge!" screams Charity Cromwell. "I curse everyone here, their children, and their children's children that we will return!"

Flames engulf the wood chunks and begin licking the women's long black skirts. The women in the crowd turn their faces away against their husband's shoulders and cradle their children against them. By now the flames ignite the women's bodies to the point where recognition is nearly impossible. Screams erupt from the three women, but after several moments, they stop.

The crowd watches in horror as the flames briefly shoot skyward for a moment before receding. All three women's bodies have vanished without a trace. Panic and hysteria settle throughout everyone's minds. The air thickens now with terror and fear. The three women re-appear again in thin air behind the crowd, who scream and turn around in terror. Charity's fists clenched at her sides as she takes a step forward. Her eyes are hard, cold and unfeeling. Mary and Sara flank her in the same positions. One by one, the skirts and slacks of everyone present go up in flames spontaneously. Screams are heard throughout the village as women; children and men flee to escape the wrath of the three heathens. One by one, the villagers drop to the ground, aflame. As the three women walk slowly away, behind them, buildings explode and flames ignite them. By now the entire village has gone up in flames and the screaming has silenced. Smirking, they exit the village.


	2. The Accident

Book of Days

Chapter one-The Accident

"Lizzie!"

Hearing her name, Lizzie Cromwell blinked a few times behind the counter of Jo's Corner, a coffee place that was highly active during the day with the Santa Barbara police department only a block away. Police and detectives usually came in for their morning rush and this morning was no exception as it was extremely busy. Lizzie realized she'd gone into some kind of narcosis and that had frozen in her tracks. Her boss and boyfriend, Adam Greene came up beside her and handed the police officer his cup of coffee. Lizzie shook herself and seemed to snap back into motion.

"Are you alright? You spaced out," Adam said scrutinizing her carefully.

Lizzie looked up as a tall, lanky blue-eyed detective entered the shop next. Lizzie turned to Adam.

"I think I need to sit down for a bit," she admitted as Adam stepped up to take care of the detective. She lifted the gate section of counter up and stepped out from behind it. The detective watched her curiously as she sat down at a nearby table. You could pretty much tell detectives from police officers. They carried themselves differently and she could see his badge clipped to the waist line of his pants. Lizzie pulled off her apron and ran a hand through her shoulder length blond hair. Lately, she has felt weird, but she pushed it off as nothing but stress. Her blue eyes watched Adam as the detective glanced at her, offering a faint smile, which she returned, before he hurried out.

With several more SBPD law enforcement that came and went, it was now quiet time and time to breathe again. Lizzie crossed her arms over the table and let her chin rest on her forearm. Adam came over and sat in front of her. He had short dark brown hair and blue eyes, framed by dark lashes. He smiled and gently placed a hand over hers, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"Hey," he said softly. "Why don't we take a little vacation this weekend? It'll be just the two of us. It'll help you unwind."

Lizzie smiled wanly at his offer and gently put a hand on the side of his face, her palm cupping the side of his jaw.

"That's sweet," she said softly and appreciatively and went to respond, when suddenly, the door burst open and a man dressed entirely in black stormed in, holding a gun. He had a ski mask over his face, so only his eyes could be clearly seen.

"Give me your money!" he ordered. "No funny business or I'll shoot!"

Adam raised his hands in a placating way and slowly rose from his feet. The criminal ushered Adam behind the counter by gunpoint and he opened the register, scooping out the bills that he'd earned this morning. He handed it to the criminal, who snatched it greedily. Lizzie rose in fear. Her heart was hammering wildly in her chest and she was shaking violently. The man moved the gun on her and clicked back the hammer. Adam took that opportunity to slide over the counter top and lunge at the man. The man turned, and pulled the trigger.

Adam went down as a large red stain formed on the front of his shirt. He began gasping for air. Lizzie cried out and dropped to her knees beside him. She placed her hands on his chest as the blood stain spread and she could feel the warm liquid beneath her palms. Lizzie's eyes had filled with tears. Grief and agony filled her chest and it was almost like she'd lost all feeling at this point. She felt numb and detached from the situation. Adam raised a hand to the side of her face, accidentally smearing some blood on her cheek. He kept his eyes on hers as his breathing got shallower and shallower until Lizzie saw the light diminish from his eyes and they were now dull and lifeless.

She remained kneeling, shaking as tears spilled over and streamed down her cheeks. Then, anger and rage flooded her. Her blond hair had fallen around her face as she slowly rose to her feet and clenched her fists at her sides. The criminal aimed the gun at her, preparing to shoot her but when her head snapped up an invisible breeze whisked her hair back over her shoulder. Her eyes locked on the criminal and intense loathing and anger radiated off her. The criminal froze for a moment, and that's when two large flames licked the cuff of his pants and shot up both limbs. He screamed and frantically tried to put them out, but they only rose up to his back now. He began flailing around, trying to put out the flames. He fell to the floor and didn't move.

At this point, the flames have now moved to the curtains hanging over the windows. Lizzie began slowly walking toward the front door, as behind her the flames licked the walls and ran the ceiling, igniting everything and anything in its path. Lizzie grew closer to the door, which snapped open and as soon as her foot touched the ground outside the coffee place, the doors snapped shut behind her. She suddenly felt like a cloud had lifted from her mind and she could hear fire engine sirens wailing in the distance

She walked to the curb, completely in a daze and dropped to her knees and that's when the world went silent, then faded into blackness.

Lizzie was sitting on the curb, with a gray wool blanket wrapped around her. The world had come into focus again and she could hear and see everything going on. Red and blue dome lights of police cars rotated, their reflection bouncing off the buildings nearby. An ambulance had come for her, while a coroner van was loading two bodies into the back of it in black bags. She hugged the blanket tighter around her and she could still feel Adam's hand on the side of her face. On instinct, she reached up to touch her cheek and when her eyes landed on her hands, sticky and dried with blood she remembered everything that had happened in the coffee place and a scream tore from her throat as she began frantically wiping at her cheek to remove any blood that might've gotten on her. She didn't notice Detective Carlton Lassiter and Detective Juliet O'Hara, start to approach her from their place near the coroner van from her peripheral vision.

She sensed two people in front of her. It was a man and a woman. They crouched down and when Lizzie's eyes met a tall, lanky blue eyed detective, she recognized him from earlier. He was wearing an expression of sympathy mixed with firmness. The blond-haired woman was matching his posture next to him. She had a kind and sympathetic expression on her face.

"Hi," she said warmly. "I'm Detective O'Hara and this is my partner, Detective Lassiter. What exactly happened in there?"

Lizzie registered her question, but returned to frantically wiping at her cheek, trying to remove Adam's blood. The minute Lassiter and O'Hara saw her hands, O'Hara understood immediately.

"Oh," she said softly.

Lassiter glanced at his partner, confused.

O'Hara returned his gaze and responded softly and quietly.

"I think she saw the young man get shot," she responded returning her eyes back to Lizzie. "That's his blood on her hands." (An unspoken understanding sigh escaped both O'Hara and Lassiter. They could only imagine what the girl saw)

Realization dawned on Lassiter as O'Hara watched Lizzie frantically wipe at her cheek. There had been blood there earlier, but it was gone now. O'Hara gently reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue and gently reached out to grab Lizzie's wrist. She began carefully wiping at the blood that had dried on her palms. Lizzie allowed her to clean her hands and by now, any remains of the blood were now wiped clean. She quickly pulled her hands back underneath the wool blanket and Lassiter tried speaking to her now, hoping he would be able to get through to her.

"Miss Cromwell? What exactly happened?" he asked in a calm, collective tone. Both detectives could see she was totally rattled and shaken (then again, who wouldn't be after something like that?)

"I killed that man," Lizzie croaked out thickly. "I burned him alive."

Lassiter and O'Hara looked at one another. Lassiter gently grabbed Lizzie's elbow and helped her to her feet. O'Hara remained beside her as they put her in the back of the Crown Victoria. They climbed in the front and peeled away from the scene. Lassiter wanted to hear how this young woman could have possibly lit the criminal on fire when the fire chief told him they found no evidence of arson, cigarettes or anything that would've ignited one spark.

At the precinct, Lizzie sat in a chair behind a table in one of the interrogation rooms. Detective Lassiter paced back and forth, while O'Hara sat in the chair across from her. He leaned over the table, placing both palms face down and his tie dangled above the surface.

"What happened in there, Miss Cromwell?" he asked.

His cold blue eyes held Lizzie's as she shakily reached for a cup of coffee that O'Hara had gotten for her. Her hands wrapped around the warm Styrofoam and slowly raised it to her lips. O'Hara glanced up at her partner. He was being surprisingly patient which she found startling but strange. She watched as Lizzie put the cup down and took a deep breath. She seemed a bit sturdier than earlier, but O'Hara could see a crack forming in her behavior that any minute, it would open into a fissure.

"Adam, my boyfriend and I were sitting at the table," Lizzie said slowly and thickly. She kept her eyes locked on Lassiter as she spoke (the pain, anguish and grief was clear beneath her words). Lizzie ignored the blanket as it slid down off one shoulder as she continued.

"We were talking about taking a vacation this weekend," she went on. "Adam's father owns a small place near the beach. We go there often." Lizzie said shutting her eyes momentarily and shaking her head as though she was getting off tract. "Anyway, this guy charges in with a ski mask and demanded money so Adam gets it and gives it to him. The man in the mask turns the gun on me and Adam lunges at him. He shoots him…." Lizzie's voice trailed off as it got unsteady and wobbly. Her eyes snapped open as fresh tears formed in her eyes. "I-I collapsed near Adam and I got angry. The next thing I knew the criminal was on fire and everything ignited after that. I don't remember anything after that. My mind's a blank. I woke up outside sitting on the curb and remember meeting you two."

"Sweetie, the fire chief didn't find any evidence that you started the fire," O'Hara said softly leaning forward. "Why on earth would you think you did?"

"Because I think there's something seriously wrong with me," Lizzie said as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Strange things happen around me!"

O'Hara and Lassiter exchange looks again and Lizzie watches them.

Lassiter gently grabbed O'Hara's elbow and pulled her aside out of ear shot of the young woman.

"O'Hara, witnesses saw the door open and she just walked out unharmed! That is impossible! The security system had malfunctioned and the doors would've been locked! How do you explain how she just up and left?" he whispered furiously to her.

O'Hara glared at Lassiter.

"So? Isn't it possible that the heat from the fire melted any wiring?" O'Hara argued reasonably. "Carlton, I don't think this poor girl had anything to do with the fire!"

Lassiter turned to the young woman.

"Are you taking any medication?" he inquired.

O'Hara glared at Lassiter and gave him a pointed look, which caused him to mumble something incoherent. O'Hara turned to Lizzie.

"We're just trying to understand what happened. You've been through an incredible ordeal now. You saw your boyfriend's death. I think all you need is a good rest," she said warmly gently squeezing Lizzie's hand.

Hearing the words from O'Hara, Lizzie burst into fresh tears. She crossed her arms over the table surface and buried her face in them. Sobs ransacked her shoulders and O'Hara got up and came around the table to put her arm around the girl's shoulders. At that moment, the door to the room burst open and she could hear two young men step inside.

"Lassie! Jules, I just got a 'vision'…" a young man's voice trailed off. There was a pause, then: "Lassie oh my god what did you do to this poor girl? Did you try to kiss her? No wonder she's traumatized!"

If Lizzie hadn't been so devastated, she would've found that statement hilarious, but she kept her face buried in her arms as she cried. The one person she loved more than life itself was gone. It felt like someone had ripped Lizzie's heart out and stomped on it numerous times, then sent it through a meat grinder.

"Four your information, dimwit," she heard Lassiter growl through clenched teeth. "The girl saw her boyfriend die in front of her and she's convinced she set the fire. Anymore wise cracks?"

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed that statement.

"Oh bummer," she heard the young man say and he plopped into the seat where O'Hara had been.

Lizzie raised her head and saw a man with scruffy wheat brown hair and a trimmed beard that gave him a cute unkempt look. The second man was darker skinned and slightly bald, but he dressed nearly impeccable. The young woman watched him with interest.

"Lizzie, this is Shawn Spencer. He's our resident psychic. If anyone can prove to you that you didn't start the fire, he can," O'Hara said softly.

Shawn flashed Lizzie a 40 watt smile, but she didn't return any facial expressions. A few moments later, she watched as Lassiter came over and stood next to her left side and placed one hand on his hip. He scowled at Shawn, and she wondered if this was some kind of routine thing that went on between them daily.

Shawn suddenly cried out and raised the heel of his palm to the top of his eye.

"What is it Shawn?" O'Hara asked.

"I-I don't know," Shawn said shaking his head, as though trying to clear it of something. "I-I can't seem to get a reading on her. It's like I slam into a brick wall."

"There is a shock," Lassiter muttered.

Lizzie looked up at him and they held one another's gaze for a moment. She could see the wheels turning in his head. He had this calculating expression on his face which led her to believe he didn't think she was a suspect to begin with. Lizzie lowered her gaze to her lap and twisted the hem of her shirt in her hands. There was still some blood stains there that she knew she would never be able to get out…let alone be able to wear this outfit again seeing Adam's blood.

"Spencer, here I thought you were the big psychic who could read everyone," Lassiter said smirking at him. "Well well."

"Lassie my divine gift doesn't work like a light switch," Shawn said. "But wouldn't that be awesome if it did? Gus could flip my Shawnawesome switch on and off like a light buddy!"

Gus just rolled his eyes.

Lassiter turned his attention to Lizzie. "Right now I think it's best if Miss Cromwell returns home for the night. We'll be in contact with you," Lizzie just nodded and solemnly rose to her feet. She knew the detectives believed she didn't start the fire, but she knew she did. She remembered doing it. She just couldn't explain how.

Lizzie pulled into her driveway and put the car in park. She just gripped the steering wheel, staring at the Chevy logo in the center of it, completely lost in her own thoughts and emotions. She burst into tears and angrily slammed her hand on the edge of the steering wheel. She really didn't know why she didn't burn in the fire (She caused it right? So why didn't she burn? And what was going on?) She shut her eyes and sobbed uncontrollably. Suddenly, there was a knock on her window. She looked up and saw a man holding an axe, poised as though to strike her window. She screamed and shoved the car in reverse. The tires screeched as the car lurched backwards and bumped down the driveway curb. She heard a slight 'whoosh' of air, and screamed again when the axe blade broke through the back windshield, shattering it into pieces. Little shards of glass littered the back seat, and floor of the car. She began heading down the block and when she looked up into the rear view mirror to glance at the man, he was gone. *************************************************************************** Lizzie's tire bumped up on the curb in front of the SBPD. She was aware she had parked half on half off, but at this point she didn't care. This was the only place she truly felt safe so it was the only place that came to mind to go to for help. She put the car in park and shoved open her door, launching herself up the front steps. She stumbled into the precinct, searching for the two detectives. Her eyes finally landed on Detective Lassiter, sitting at his desk, typing on the computer. He had a pencil clenched between his teeth as he typed. Lizzie headed over to him and practically fell against his desk. He looked up at her startled and quickly yanked the pencil out of his mouth and stood up in alarm (she was sure he could see her terrified and panicked expression. It was clearly written on her face like an opened book)

"Miss Cromwell? What's wrong? I thought you'd gone home for the evening?" he asked worriedly.

"Someone just tried to kill me," Lizzie sobbed. "I pulled into my driveway and this guy was holding an axe! I got out of there as fast as I could and I came here."

"Jesus," Detective Lassiter said and gently grabbed her shoulders, guiding her to one of the chairs near his desk. She sat down and hugged herself as Detective Lassiter yelled for someone named McNabb. He turned and crouched down beside her.

"Did you get a good look at him?" he asked her.

Lizzie shook her head and raised a hand to her forehead. "No," she said miserably. "I just wanted to get away."

"It's alright. I'll send someone out to your house see if he returns," Lassiter said and turned to a burly looking officer. He threw the officer a look and he nodded and hurried off. Lassiter turned to Lizzie.

"I'm also going to call O'Hara. I don't think it's safe for you to return to your home just yet especially since we don't know what's going on," he said as he sat back down behind his desk and grabbed his phone. He quickly dialed O'Hara's number as Lizzie hugged herself. Her boyfriend dies and someone wants to kill her all in one night. Could this get any worse?


	3. Pieces

Book of Days

Chapter three-Buried Alive

When Lizzie woke up the following morning, a feeling of ice cold dread over took her almost right away. She slowly roused herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She carefully padded into the hallway, pausing for a moment listening. It was dead quiet in the house, which caused alarm to raise a flag in her. She expected to hear Henry making breakfast, moving around etcetera. She carefully made her way down the stairs and into the living room. She began cautiously approaching the kitchen now, her heart hammering in her chest. Her eyes roamed over to where the couch was, and then she froze. There was a dark form lying face down on the carpet as she drew nearer, she got a clear picture; Henry and he had a bloody gash on his temple.

Lizzie let out a startled cry and raised a hand to her mouth. She whirled around and went to grab the phone tucked into the pocket of her sweatpants, when an arm shot out of nowhere and caught her across the face, but mainly she felt sharp pain shoot up the front of her forehead and nose. She fell backwards, slipping in and out of consciousness. She could feel blood trickling down her nose and upper lip. She saw a blurry dark figure looming over her before blackness overcame her completely.

Lizzie moaned and blinked a few times as she emerged from murky darkness. Quiet pressed in on her ears painfully. She felt she was lying in a confined space on her back. She reached up and felt her palms slap against wood. Then, she felt all around her. There was wood on all sides of her. Dread and despair began settling into her chest, causing her breathing to hitch and feel as though a weight settled on her sternum.

After several moments of sheer panic, she remembered the phone Lassiter had given her the night before. She carefully reached into her pocket and felt her fingers close around the phone. She hit a button and using the blue light from the screen, and from that minimal light she knew she was in a coffin.

A scream bubbled up in her throat and she belted it out, pounding against the lid of the coffin. She began thrashing, but it was no use. Her screams went unanswered and unheard. She began sobbing and with a brief flash of clarity, she remembered she was still gripping the phone. She froze. She didn't know Detective Lassiter's number. On instinct, she hit the contacts and sure enough, she saw his number. She hit the call button and put it to her ear. The rings were like music to her ears and when his voice came over the line, it felt like pure joy.

"Detective Lassiter,"

"Detective! I woke up buried in a coffin somewhere!" Lizzie sobbed hysterically.

"What? Where are you?" his tone dripped with urgency and anxiety.

"I have no idea!" she sobbed and pounded on the lid again. "Please get me out of here!"

"Crap," He breathed. "Okay. Listen. Do you remember anything before you woke up in the coffin?"

"No," Lizzie wailed as tears streamed down the corners of her eyes. She heard his voice pull away from the phone, probably alerting O'Hara as to what was going on. She heard O'Hara's startled cry in the background and she said she was going to call Shawn and Gus to come down. Lassiter's voice came back over the line. It was a tone she'd never heard before. It was calm, mixed with set determination and affirmation.

"We will find you,"

He stayed on the line with her the entire time, keeping her talking. On occasion the hysteria would settle in and she'd scream and pound, but hearing Lassiter's voice seemed to ground her again and she settled into a calm state once again. Her heart was hammering wildly in her chest and against her ribs. The claustrophobia began settling in and her breathing became harder and shallower. She felt like the walls were closing in on all sides.

"Liz, stay with me. We will find you," Lassiter said in her ear frantically. He was able to hear her gasping over the phone line and heard him barking orders to Shawn about something several moments later. Lizzie could see darkness starting to encroach in her line of vision and her hand holding the phone began slipping away from her ear. Her hearing rolled in and out simultaneously. She could hear Lassiter's voice shouting over the phone line and her eyes stared blankly up at the paneled lid.

Suddenly, there was a deafening silence; the lid of the coffin blew open, shattering the wood planks into pieces. Sucking in air greedily, Lizzie pulled herself out of the coffin, sitting up momentarily to get her bearings. After a millisecond, she grabbed the edges of the coffin and hoisted herself out. She was standing in an opened grave that someone had dug and paced the coffin there with obvious plans of burying her alive. The fact that it rained was probably a bonus because the mud would've caved in covering the coffin. She would've never gotten out alive then. She grabbed at the four walls, trying to hoist herself out but her fingers slid in the mud, causing her to slide back down into the hole. By now, dark streaks had formed on her clothes and her bare feet crusted over in mud up to her ankles and some splashes had gotten on her calves.

Streaks had now covered her cheeks, hands and top of her tank top. She tried again and a hand shot down, gripping her wrist. She screamed in momentary fear and looked up. Relief spread through her like a tidal wave. It was Lassiter. O'Hara had also reached down and grabbed her other wrist. Working as a team, they pulled her out. Lizzie could see Lassiter checking her over, probably for any signs of trauma or injuries. She saw his eyes land and freeze on her nose where the blood had crusted and mixed with the mud. She watched him raise a hand to bring her attention to her nose, when they were interrupted.

Shawn and Gus came running next to them, panting and out of breath.

"Whoa are you alright Lizzie?" Gus asked looking alarmed. Lizzie nodded quickly, her arms still wrapped around her midsection. O'Hara stepped closer and put her arms around the girl, hugging her. Lizzie returned the embrace. She was surprised by the affection from the female detective, but welcomed it.

"Oh thank goodness! Shawn was the one who was able to find you," O'Hara said warmly squeezing the girl. As Lizzie looked around she realized she was in the middle of a forest. A faint fog had hovered above the ground as Lizzie looked around. Dead leaves cluttered the ground, along with twigs and large above ground roots from trees.

"Where am I?" Lizzie asked looking from the detectives to Shawn and Gus. "And how did you find me Shawn?"

Lassiter put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll tell you in a moment. O'Hara, can you go to the car please and get my jacket?" he asked.

O'Hara nodded and hurried off to the car. Gus nudged Shawn.

"We have some wipes in the car. We'll get them for you Liz," Gus said as he grabbed Shawn by the arm and dragged him protesting off after Juliet.

Lassiter's hand had remained on Lizzie's shoulder. He was watching her closely looking for any signs of shock or anything like that. It came just as quickly as the blink of an eye. Lizzie burst into tears and stepped right up to him, pressing her face into his chest. She felt him standing awkward as she cried into his white shirt. Lizzie felt his arms slowly lift up to return the embrace, but they froze in mid-circle around her and slowly fell back down against his sides. Perhaps he wasn't used to showing affection toward people, which would explain his action.

Feeling he was out of his comfort zone, Lizzie quickly stepped back embarrassed and ashamed. She felt ridiculous for just stepping up to him like that and the fact that she broke down, made her feel even more mortified. Her cheeks were damp and shiny from tears.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, avoiding eye contact with him. He probably thought she was some kind of nutcase and clearly there was something wrong with her. She sniffled and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks with the palm of her hand. She saw Lassiter go to reply but they soon became interrupted by Shawn and Gus coming back, followed by O'Hara, who took one look at Lizzie and knew she'd cracked. O'Hara helped Lizzie on with the jacket and then Gus handed her several sanitary wipes he'd kept in the car.

Lizzie cleaned off the mud from her cheeks, hands, and feet, though she could see O'Hara felt bad there was nothing they could do for her bare feet being they didn't have a change of sneakers or shoes in the car. She saw O'Hara analyze Lassiter and a frown creased her expression. Shawn seemed to sense something too, because he playfully reached over to pinch Lassiter's cheek. Lassiter scowled and caught Shawn's hand mid-air. Lizzie wondered what they could see that she couldn't or didn't.

"Spencer, if you enjoy having the use of your legs, I suggest you drop that arm," Lassiter said coldly.

"Lassie, come on buddy," Shawn antagonized him. "What happened when we were gone hmm?" Shawn's voice went into a higher octave and he was certainly trying to prod Lassiter for information.

Lizzie was watching their interaction and she could see that Lassiter disliked Shawn whole heartedly. She admitted that she liked all four of them, but again, Lassiter seemed to rise above the others in her favorites' book; plus, she had no idea why each time they seemed to touch, an overwhelming sense of power hit her. It was a complete mystery to her.

"Nothing Spencer," Lassiter retorted curtly.

O'Hara began explaining how Shawn had led them here, as well as the fact they knew something was wrong when Henry wasn't answering the phone. Anxious and distressed, he'd called Lassiter and O'Hara right away. When they got there, they found Henry unconscious, but he was alright (hearing this Lizzie exhaled a breath of relief). Henry told them that someone snuck into the house and he was hit over the head with something heavy and solid. They were frightened for Lizzie when comprehension overtook them she wasn't in the house anywhere.

Shawn had found some foot prints that led up to the house and to a pair of skid marks that were fresh. Following that, they got a make and model. A 2012 Dodge Charger, black. They found some witnesses that saw the same car heading toward this park. It was a large recreational park called Faraday Gate's. People come here for camping, hiking etcetera. Once they got here however, things got extremely tense and tricky. They had no visuals to go by, but Shawn had found footprints that led them to the spot. When they got here, Lizzie had naturally already gotten out of the coffin and they'd hoisted her out of the opened grave. It was then they had seen anything.

When O'Hara was finished explaining everything, Shawn was still alienating Lassiter, who eventually seemed to have had enough because he lashed out and grabbed Spencer around the throat.

"iEnough!/i" he spat.

"Okay," Shawn wheezed out and Lassiter released his throat.

Lassiter stormed past O'Hara and Lizzie, without even a backward glance at any of them.

"Wow is it me or is he crabbier than usual?" Shawn commented. He noticed Lizzie and a sly and wolfish look spread across his face. "Lizzie…" he said in a condescending tone. "Care to tell us what made Lassie face so crabby?"

Lizzie felt guilty that perhaps she caused some kind of a problem, let alone caused the stoic detective to be in a bad mood.

"Um," she said swallowing. "I-I guess everything hit me at once and I kinda hugged him. I'm sorry if I caused any problems or put him in a bad mood." She looked aghast and disturbed.

Shawn burst into laughter and Gus joined in. Even O'Hara was chuckling. She looked between them like they were crazy. i Why did they think that was funny?/i

If she caused an issue she wanted to apologize to him right away. Somehow the idea of him being angry with her didn't sit well and it bothered her.

"Oh no it's alright Lizzie," O'Hara giggled. "Lassiter isn't used to one on one contact. He has a small comfort zone. I think you kinda shook him up a little bit."

"Why?" Lizzie asked as they finally reached the area where the cars were parked in a large parking lot where there were a few campers, and cars with cargo hitches attached to them. The path that led from the parking lot to where she had been was at least a good 15 minute walk. Shawn and Gus winked at her and gently touched her arm before heading over to a blue Toyota Echo sedan.

O'Hara paused and leaned in.

"Because I think he's starting to like you and it's making him nervous," she explained grinning.

Lizzie saw Lassiter roll down the window of a dark blue Ford Crown Victoria and lean out slightly. He was wearing a scowl. Lizzie realized that look fit his features, yet she felt it took away from his handsome features. She mentally smacked herself numerous times for thinking that. i what is wrong with you?/i she thought to herself.

"Let's go O'Hara," he barked out gruffly and then pulled his head back inside; the window rolled up shortly after that. He was sitting, gripping the steering wheel and staring out the windshield.

O'Hara led Lizzie over to the car and she opened the back door for her. She slid onto the bench seat and O'Hara closed the door. She pulled Lassiter's jacket around her tighter. Feeling the residing heat of his body in it, Lizzie sank into it and snuggled into the back seat. Lassiter put the car in drive and peeled out of the parking lot.

Lizzie gripped the door handle as Lassiter made a sharp left turn to get on the highway. She noted he was either A-afraid of the brake, or B-they didn't get along well enough. She wondered how many times O'Hara had warned him about the dangers of speeding, but clearly he preferred his own driving style.

"Carlton, you should drive the Indy cars," O'Hara said glibly. "I think you'd be right at home!"

Lizzie actually heard herself let out a giggle at that. Lassiter just narrowed his eyes, but Lizzie saw him briefly glance up again before the light turned green.

"Can we please ride the rest of the way in silence?" Lassiter asked her shortly.

Lizzie saw O'Hara shake her head with amusement. Clearly, that was a normal routine for them when they were in the car. She looked out at the window at the scenery flooding by in a whir. Someone out there must really hate her, but she had no idea who. All these strange things seem to happen around her. People burn up spontaneously; the lid of a coffin explodes; she had no explanation for any of those things. Was there something seriously wrong with her?

She felt a single tear streak down her cheek and she sniffled and quickly wiped at it with her hand. At the same time she caught Lassiter steal a glance at her in the rearview mirror.

They pulled up in front of Henry's house. Lizzie felt relief flooding through her when she saw it. She liked Henry. He reminded her of her father and she felt drawn to him. He certainly treated her like a daughter and he barely knew her. They all climbed out and Shawn led them in.

Henry was sitting on the couch. He had gauze on his temple which was held in place by a white bandage wrapped around his head like a bandanna, fastened with two little metal clips. Lizzie figured they'd called the EMT's to come and check on him. Obviously it was nothing serious otherwise he would've been at the hospital right now. He saw Lizzie and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He got to his feet and came over to her, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly. She was taken by surprise, but she allowed him to hug her and she leaned into his embrace. It felt like a father would hug his daughter after he found out she was missing for hours and finally came home. She welcomed that feeling. She felt safe.

"Oh thank God," Henry breathed in pure relief. "We thought something awful had happened to you."

"See Lassie? That's what you're missing," Shawn said smugly, pointing to Henry embracing Lizzie. He released her and looked her over, taking in her disheveled and filthy mud ridden appearance.

"Good lord you're covered in muck!" he exclaimed. "Go shower then come back down stairs so we can all figure out what the hell is going on here."

Lizzie nodded and carefully shrugged off Lassiter's jacket. She gently reached out to hand it back to him, but he shook his head.

"Keep it for now," he responded.

Eight pairs of eyes looked at him alarmed and he cleared his throat, throwing each of them a warning look that if any of them started, they'd wish they were never born. Lizzie flashed him a quick smile and then headed upstairs.

After a nice hot shower, Lizzie came back down dressed in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail. Some of the shorter strands hung down against her cheeks. She passed between Lassiter and O'Hara and took a seat on the couch next to Henry. She felt so much better after the hot water relaxed some of her muscles and she felt cleaner and able to think more clearly now.

"Do you have any idea who that person that knocked me out could've been?" Henry asked her watching her. "And what happened to you?"

Lizzie shook her head at the first part of his question, and then turned her attention onto the latter.

"Someone knocked me out too. I woke up in a coffin somewhere in a recreational park," She explained. "This is the second time someone's attacked me."

"And you have no idea why?"

Lizzie shook her head miserably.

"No. I wish I knew though," she added. "I didn't do anything to anyone."

"Alright," Henry said slowly. "Lassiter, Jules, I think going forward she doesn't go anywhere without someone with her."

"I agree," Lassiter said nodding in accord.

Henry looked up at Shawn, Gus and Jules.

"Can I speak to you three in the kitchen please?" Henry asked them as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Sure dad," Shawn said making a funny face at Lizzie, who broke into a wan smile. She liked Shawn's attempts to cheer her up. She appreciated it. O'Hara excused herself and she followed Gus and Shawn into the kitchen. Lizzie was left alone with Lassiter who took a seat across from her on a chair. He was leaning forward slightly, with his hands clasped between his knees and his elbows rested on his thighs. She turned and met his gaze.

"I'll have Henry wash the jacket for you. I probably got mud on it," she said gently draping the jacket across the arm of the couch.

"There's no rush," he said shaking his head.

Then, startling her, Lassiter got up and came to sit by her. Her heart hammered in her chest and she froze. She wasn't afraid of his intentions, she trusted him completely which was odd. Lizzie usually took a while to trust someone. He turned to her.

"Did your parents leave photo albums behind? Anything on your family perhaps?" he asked her suddenly.

Lizzie thought for a moment. She remembered seeing some old boxes up in the attic. Perhaps there was something up there that would shed some light on what was going on.

"I think so," she said nodding feeling a glimmer of hope at the thought of uncovering something about her family. "I think there are some boxes in my attic at home."

"Tomorrow, we'll go through them," Lassiter said. "Perhaps there's something in there that might help us."

Exhaustion slammed into her like car hitting a brick wall at 40 miles an hour. Her whole body felt drained and her arms and legs felt like rubber. Her eye lids drooped and she was briefly aware of Lassiter asking her something but she felt her body slide sideways towards him. Her cheek was pressing against the upper part of his arm and she could feel the cool material of his blue shirt against her skin. Before long, she was out cold.


	4. Buried alive

Book of Days

Chapter four-Family History

Lizzie blinked a few times, feeling warm sunshine on her face. She winced and slowly emerged from the grogginess of sleep. She stretched her arms above her head and sat up. She looked around, momentarily panicked as to where she was. It was a strange bedroom and a strange bed. Then, her memory clarified and she remembered where she was.

But, the thing that confused her was how she got up here. The last thing she remembered was dozing off on the couch next to Lassiter. The thought jarred her alert. iOh god. Did he carry me up here?/i she wondered, stunned to feel heat creeping into her cheeks at the implication that he had.

She quickly threw off the covers and got to her feet. She hurried out of the bedroom and into the hallway and padded down stairs. Fear tugged at her memory of the last time she came down here what had happened. But no. Everything was normal. She could hear Henry, Shawn and Gus talking animatedly in the kitchen. Her nose detected eggs, bacon and sausage and her stomach grumbled hungrily.

She stepped into the kitchen and the three men looked up at her, breaking into identical grins. Shawn's of course, was more impish.

"Morning Lizzie! Care for some grub?" Henry asked using a spatula on a frying pan to move around some eggs.

"Yes please," She said pulling out a chair and taking a seat next to Gus. Shawn was still grinning at her in that sly knowing way. She glanced to Gus, who also had a similar look.

"Why are you two staring at me like that?" she asked feeling rather self-conscious about herself and quickly looked down at her shirt, perhaps thinking that something was showing that shouldn't have been. But everything was in order.

"Did you sleep well?" Gus asked her, his tone light.

"Yes," she said frowning and looking at the both of them.

"Lizzie, don't pay attention to these two knuckle heads," Henry said placing a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage down in front of her. "Remember I said I dropped Shawn on his head as baby numerous times. Gus I can't account for, but maybe he inhaled some of those toxic medal fumes…or he forgot his medications." Henry's expression was deadpan.

Lizzie actually managed a laugh. The sound caused the three of them to have elated and astonished looks on their faces.

"You have a nice laugh Lizzie," Gus commented appreciatively.

"Thanks, but seriously guys why the impish looks?" Lizzie asked confused taking a bite of eggs.

"Well, I'm sure you remember falling asleep against Lassiter right?" Shawn said, his grin growing wider. "Well he helped you up upstairs."

Lizzie's hand holding the fork froze midair to her mouth, the little bit of eggs shaking as her whole hand trembled, mouth frozen open.

"What exactly do you mean…helped?"

"Lassiter carried you upstairs," Henry clarified throwing Shawn and Gus exasperated looks, mixed with annoyance. "You were practically comatose. You looked like you were awake for almost 72 hours. I was busy talking with Shawn, O'Hara and Gus. Lassiter didn't yell for us for fear of waking you up when the sleep you had was much needed. So he carried you up and put you to bed." (Shawn and Gus made snickering sounds and began whispering to one another about Lassie's dream date being a comatose woman) when Henry reached over and slapped Shawn up the back of the head stopping the whispering debate going on.

All the color drained from Lizzie's face. Now more than ever, she had reason to be mortified and shy around him. Shawn and Gus were quietly snickering amongst themselves but stopped when they saw Henry's warning look.

"It's fine Lizzie," Henry said softly. "He wasn't about to leave you downstairs. You don't have to worry about him." He added with a meaningful tone.

Basically, he was telling her that Lassiter wouldn't endanger her virtue, which made the color rush right back into her face. Lizzie finished off her breakfast in record time, just to have her mind occupied.

About an hour later, the doorbell rang. Shawn ran to answer it.

"Hi Lassie and Jules!" Shawn said loudly knowing full well Lizzie would hear him.

Lizzie's heart began hammering loudly in her chest. Gus was watching her with amusement, while Henry was shaking his head, stifling a laugh.

"Hi Shawn," Lizzie heard O'Hara's voice say softly. "Is Lizzie awake yet?"

"Yep," Shawn said cheerfully. "Follow me."

iOh dear Lord/i Lizzie thought gripping the edge of the table.

Lizzie looked up as O'Hara and Lassiter stepped into the kitchen. Lassiter seemed completely fine, showing no signs of embarrassment or being uncomfortable yet Lizzie found herself imagining slipping through the floor cracks and disappearing altogether. She noted he was dressed in a silver gray suit and matching striped tie and that only made her want to disappear even more.

"Would you two like some coffee?" Henry asked, clearing his throat.

"It's fine thank you Henry but I'm set," Lassiter declined politely.

O'Hara shook her head, offering Henry a smile. Gus by now, watching Lizzie's reactions and facial expressions, was certainly being entertained. He turned his head and turned a laugh into a cough.

"What are you two doing here so early?" Henry asked, as concern crept into his voice, looking from both O'Hara to Lassiter.

"We're actually here for Lizzie. I think it's best if we go to her house and see if there are any clues that might help us understand. She said that there are some boxes up in the attic that her parents left her. Right?" Lassiter said turning his gaze onto Lizzie.

iEeep/i Lizzie thought and as she swallowed hard. Ten pairs of eyes shifted onto her now and she nodded meekly. iSay something, stupid or they're going to think you're some kind of weirdo!/i

"R-Right. I'm just gonna get dressed," Lizzie fumbled as she got up from her seat and began edging toward the kitchen doorway. She carefully passed by Lassiter, who was watching her with suspicious eyes. Once she got passed him, she bolted up the stairs to the sound of laughter following her up from the kitchen.

She pulled on a white eyelet skirt and a teal tee shirt. She made a mental note to thank O'Hara for the clothes. She had good taste. She found a belt and quickly put it around her waist. She quickly used a brush O'Hara had gotten her (the detective clearly thought of everything for her. She was extremely grateful) she let her blond hair fall around her shoulders in soft barrel curls. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and rosy and her blue eyes seemed to sparkle. This was wrong. She shouldn't be looking like that. Her boyfriend died not even 24 hours ago. What the heck was wrong with her?

Basically she felt drained emotionally, like someone had sucked all of her emotions out with a gigantic vacuum cleaner. Something about that thought set her off laughing. Either she was cracking up or she was seriously disturbed right now after two near death experiences in a matter of hours apart from one another. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and a few seconds later there was a knock on the door.

"Lizzie? Are you okay?" O'Hara's voice called through the door.

Inhaling deeply, Lizzie gathered herself and opened the door. O'Hara was standing on the other side looking concerned.

"Yes I'm fine," she answered softly.

"Ready?"

Lizzie nodded and followed O'Hara downstairs. They met Lassiter, Shawn and Gus in the living room. Shawn was still wearing a smug grin on his face as though he knew something no one else did. Lizzie arched an eyebrow at him and he quickly wiped it off.

"Gus and I have a taco date so we won't be joining you," Shawn said. "But Lassie promised to text me every moment!"

"I did not Spencer," Lassiter growled, narrowing his eyes at the pseudo-psychic.

"Kay well you kids play nice! Jules, if Lassie gets out of hand, spank him okay?" Shawn said and waved at them before heading out of the house. Gus threw them an apologetic look before following him out. Lassiter just rolled his eyes.

"Henry, sometimes I wish you gave me permission to dump Spencer's body somewhere where they would never find him," he commented.

"Lassiter, I think I might actually do that myself," Henry retorted.

Lizzie felt a smile creeping onto her face. Henry turned his attention onto her and winked at her. He gently touched her arm affectionately and reassuringly.

"Let me know what you find," he said.

O'Hara led her and Lassiter out of the house and to the car. En Route to her house, Lizzie began wondering what they were going to uncover. She hadn't been up in the attic in years and she doubted anything was really up there to begin with. She told Lassiter her address and about 30 minutes later, he pulled into her driveway. She owned a cute two story colonial house that was white with blue shutters. Rose bushes hugged the front of the house and swept around the sides. A pathway led up to the 4 steps leading to the front door. There was a circular drive way in front as well. She had hoped her cat, Artemis, was alright and began feeling guilty for not coming home sooner. Lassiter pulled up in front and put the car in park, shutting off the ignition. They climbed out and closed their doors. Lassiter peered over the roof at Lizzie.

"Your cars in the impound lot," he said. "Being you had parked half on the curb." Seeing Lizzie's expression he continued hastily. "But I took care of it for you. You can pick it up later."

Lizzie noted the surprised expression on O'Hara's face. She looked taken aback but pleased on some level. Perhaps she'd never heard her partner do something like that? Lizzie wasn't sure but she looked at Lassiter gratefully.

"Thank you," Lizzie said softly and reached into her purse, pulling out her keys. "Come on in."

She opened the front door and led them into the hallway. Off to the right, was a large dining room with a mahogany dining set. To the left was a living room. Directly ahead and just around the corner from the dining room was a staircase that led up to the second floor. In the back were the kitchen and the first bathroom. She heard a soft mewl from around her ankles and when she glanced down, it was Artemis, her black cat.

"Oh hey," Lizzie cooed, bending down to scoop up the cat in her arms. She hugged the cat, who began purring like crazy. "I missed you."

The cat only purred louder in response and rubbed her head against Lizzie's chin. O'Hara broke into a grin and reached over to scratch the cat's ear. The cat seemed to be in her glory getting all this attention. Lizzie saw Lassiter watching the cat warily, so she gently nuzzled the cat again and placed her on her feet again. The cat wound around O'Hara's ankles, and much to Lizzie's delight and surprise, Lassiter's.

"Wow. She likes you," Lizzie said laughing.

"I take it that's odd?" O'Hara asked curiously.

"Yeah. Artemis doesn't really take to men much but she tolerated Adam. I'm surprised she likes Lassiter. That's okay though," Lizzie said chuckling, but then the sadness crept into her eyes at the mention of Adam. "Come this way. The attic has a pull down ladder."

She led them up stairs and reached up to pull down the ladder which was cut out in the ceiling. A small chain dangled down. The ladder slid down and they carefully made their way up to the attic. It was large and big enough to stand normally. Lizzie hated tight spaces, so at least this attic wasn't that bad and people could move around and function properly.

"Here are some of the boxes," Lizzie said heading over to one of the corners. Lassiter and O'Hara followed her faithfully and they found two chairs so they could sit down. Lassiter pulled one of the boxes over between his knees and began sifting through it. O'Hara did the same. Lizzie dragged a medium sized box over and reached in. It was a photo album with the words written in a silver color.

"I found a photo album," Lizzie commented as O'Hara and Lassiter looked up. Lizzie got up and dusted off her legs. She handed the album to O'Hara and O'Hara opened it.

There were pictures of her parents smiling happily for the camera on their wedding day. Lassiter leaned over and watched O'Hara flip the pages one by one.

"My parents," Lizzie said quietly. "They look so happy there don't they?"

When O'Hara turned the next page, a photo of a woman Lizzie didn't recognize stared up at her. She was standing in front of a colonial style house, dressed in what looked like 17th century clothing. She had a white bonnet tied under her chin and was standing next to a young man. Lizzie gently removed the photo and turned it over. She could feel Lassiter and O'Hara's eyes on her.

On the back was a written date and name.

"Charity Cromwell and Samuel Hoyt, July 12th 1776," Lizzie read aloud.

Lassiter and O'Hara looked at one another as all of a sudden the house seemed to shake violently. Lizzie looked around wildly in fear. It felt like an earthquake. It got worse.

Things began falling over, and Lizzie reached in the box to grab what appeared to be a book, hoping that she could save at least one thing of her family's.

"Let's go!" Lassiter cried as they hurried back downstairs.

Pictures slid off the wall and shattered; The book shelf in the living room fell forward spilling all the books so they landed splayed; Dishes fell out of the cabinet in the kitchen, breaking into a million pieces; she heard other things shattering from other rooms but had no idea what they were. Lassiter saw the cat sitting by the small table in the hallway and he leaned down to scoop it up as he ran out the door. The staircase began wobbling as though it was on a moving conveyor belt and Lizzie just managed to get down and out of the house without incident. When they hit the driveway and turned around to look, the whole house imploded.

Gasping, they leaned against the car.

"What the hell just happened?" Lassiter panted.

Lizzie saw the cat in his arms and he gently passed the cat off to her. She snuggled the animal, burying her face into the soft ebony fur.

None of them could find a logical answer to what they just witnessed. Lizzie was at a loss for words. They all were at this point. They climbed back into the car and headed to Henry's. Lizzie was now officially homeless…and an orphan on top of that.

Henry listened to what happened with wide eyes when they explained what happened, but reassured Lizzie that she could most certainly stay with him. Artemis the cat was no problem either. The cat seemed to take a shine to Henry too, and proved that by curling up on his lap. Shawn immediately made a fuss over Artemis. Lizzie stood watching Shawn. Gus just shook his head and began talking to Juliet. Lizzie excused herself to get some air.

She stepped out onto the porch and was hit with the cool Santa Barbara night air. She inhaled deeply and could smell the brine coming off the ocean. She leaned against the railing, crossing her arms over it and watching people stroll along the beach. The sun would be setting soon, and already the sky was tinged orange and purple. She clutched the book in her hands. It was a leather bound book with a five pointed star on the cover inside a circle. She traced the star with her finger and felt a surge of energy pass through her.

Lizzie sensed someone coming up beside her. She glanced to her right and saw that it was Lassiter. He matched her position effortlessly. There was a short silence that passed before Lizzie spoke. She could feel Lassiter's eyes on her intently.

"I'm homeless, my boyfriend is killed, and I think I actually killed someone, and then someone wants me dead, nearly burying me alive," Lizzie said thickly gripping the book tightly in her hands. "Why is this happening to me?"

There was a moment before Lassiter responded.

"We don't think you killed anyone," he said. "How could you? We will find out who this lunatic is trying to hurt you and we'll put him away behind bars for good. Trust me. We will find him," he said emphatically.

Lizzie shook her head. She believed he would find this guy, but she didn't believe she was as innocent as they thought.

"I know I killed that man! I burned him alive! There's something wrong with me," She said adamantly. "I thought about him bursting into flames and he did!"

Lassiter straightened up and gently placed both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to face him. Lizzie avoided looking directly at him, and instead looked into the space off to the side of him.

"Lizzie," he said quietly. "We don't know what happened to him but rest assure you had nothing to do with it. There's nothing wrong with you."

Lizzie finally looked up into his face. He had a firm and determined look on his face, but beneath it she was shocked to see compassion. It seemed as though he doesn't use that look often but she had to admit she liked knowing she had new friends now that cared about her. She wasn't alone anymore.

"We are here for you just remember that," he said and gave one shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Lassiter released her shoulders and nodded to her in affirmation of what he said. He entered the house again and called for O'Hara. They had to go.

O'Hara hugged Lizzie before following her partner to the car. Lizzie headed back inside and told Henry that she wanted to head up to bed. Artemis jumped down off Henry's lap and followed Lizzie upstairs.

With Lizzie in bed, she stared at the book for a moment and then decided that she had enough surprises for one night. She would read it in the morning. She carefully placed the book into the drawer of the nightstand and slid it closed. She reached up and shut off the light, snuggling down beneath the covers. Artemis curled up against her back and she soon dozed off.


End file.
